Advisory Alpha LLC Has $525,000 Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Advisory Alpha LLC decreased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 38.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,957 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,483 shares during the quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% during the first quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 27,042 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,642 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 70,553 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $9,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $226,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 127,540 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $16,918,000 after buying an additional 1,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% in the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 104,880 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $13,912,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT traded down $0.52 on Wednesday, reaching $133.19. 2,246,816 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,141,285. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $130.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.49. The firm has a market cap of $231.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.59.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.